Ybor City Vintage Store La France celebrates 50 years of funky discovery

Ybor City – Just off the bustle of 7th Avenue in La France, stands as a fashion time machine, part of a Hollywood-worthy costume closet.

Look up and see the Kentucky Derby-worthy ruffled hat across from the feathered boa rainbow. Crouch down and sift through the wingtip shoes.

There are sequin clown vests and silk wedding kimonos, 1960s mod dresses, and gothic jewelry suitable for night out at the castle. For some reason, do you need a goose earring or a purse shaped like a cockroach? They are also available in La France.

Now in its 50th year in business, vintage stores have long been a staple for creatives since Ybor City. But if you visit on any day you will see La France founder Jill Wax quietly working in jeans and simple tops.

“I like to be quiet and not noticing,” said Wax, 72. “But I have an incredible collection that I’ve built over the years.”

Wax grew up intent on wearing the amazing costumes he saw in old movies, especially since the 1920s, 30s and 40s. She loves the beauty and history of clothing, from intricate Victorian clothing to costumes worn with Bus Beaverkley dance numbers.

“He did Kaleidoscope women in the 1940s, where the women would be in the pool and look overhead,” she said. “They wore all fancy dresses and tutus and all sorts of incredible clothes.”

Wax was only 19 when he left home to Syracuse, New York for Tampa. She never wanted to wipe out the snow again, and she pledged to never work for anyone else. Armed with retail knowledge from Kmart’s high school stint, she opened her shop in Artsy Ybor City, where many buildings stood in the sky. At the time, her son said the monthly rent was about $75.

Wax’s first store sold sterling silver jewelry imported from India, patched jeans and dresses. She thought it would attract local college students.

However, it wasn’t enough for Wax to quit her second job as a waitress. By 1974 she had moved to a storefront across the street.

In a new concept, La France, she sold clothing sourced from second-hand shops and ramage sales.

“I watched my lifelong old movies and that was something I really knew,” she said. “I felt comfortable getting into the business, especially when I was buying it for a few dollars each.”

It took off.

“I have a large collection of things on the second floor of a building that I will fall by the bin,” she said. “So I have a good pool like vintage jackets and fancy dresses and skirts. And that’s basically how the shop has been running for years.”

Prices range from a few dollars on stickers to over $800 for hand-woven hats. A flashy men’s jacket costs $300. Cotton retro dresses ranging from $50 to $70.

“Some of the pieces we’ve decided to choose are a bit expensive due to the quality of what they are, whether it’s sewing or the details that’s placed on them,” Wax said. “If the quality is worth the price, I don’t mind choosing something expensive.”

These days, about half of the products Wax sells are true vintage, dating back to the century. Others are new items inspired by old designs and come in a variety of sizes. Thank you to our local Gasparilla Krewes.

“In the early parts of the shop, perhaps five or six years after I opened, I had to get a range of sizes to what I had for the pirates,” Wax said.

Tampa looters are still shopping in La France for swashbuckling corsets and buccaneer boots. It is also where local legend Tommy Stevens found a tuxedo and feathered top hat for the annual chicken funeral parade. Ybor City’s festivals and concerts bring tourists from all over the world.

Wax has helped many shoppers find the right look for birthday parties, dances and weddings. This includes her own children, Nathan and Ben.

“I wore a weird shiny platinum zoot suit on my prom,” said Ben Wax, who helps his mother run the business. For his wedding, he found “a really cool 60’s Sharkskin Tax Jacket I’m still wearing.”

One of Ben Wax’s early memories was dragging a wagon filled with clothes and shoes into La France. Now he loves to watch his toddlers roam the rack.

“You have this incredible Disney-esque playground, full of the craziest textures and fabrics and bright colors,” he said. “That’s her backyard and she can play in it, and it’s a completely normal experience.”

As Ybor City continues to change, shoppers can comfort the fact that La France is not going anywhere. Wax purchased the building in the 1980s. And as she spends part of her year in North Carolina, her sons are now looking out over the store.

Many of our employees, from salespeople to vintage buyers, have been there for over a decade.

“All different types of people are my customers, and that’s what makes it fun,” Wax said. “It doesn’t feel like 50 years.”

Check out La France

La France is located at 1612 E. Seventh Avenue in Tampa and opens daily from noon to 6:45pm. For more information, please visit facebook.com/lafranceybor. Follow @lafranceybor on Instagram.